Foot in mouth again. How was she going to survive this if she couldn’t figure out how to not insult people? “That was um… different. He rented the boat.”
Fitz rolled his eyes. “Have a seat, honey, and prepare to be impressed by my mad skills behind the wheel.”
Honey. Shouldn’t she be offended by the endearment or something? She wasn’t. It was… thrilling. Almost like they were a couple and he called her that all the time. She slid into the passenger seat across the aisle from the driver’s seat and instantly saw the benefit of being minus Thora and Jack—she wasn’t wedged up next to him in the way-too-cozy bench seat at the rear of the boat.
Although that had been kind of exhilarating. And his proximity would have made it a lot easier to do any random tasting that he might elect to try. Maybe she should think of a way to get closer to him instead of celebrating that he was far away.
“Where to?” she asked and then smacked the heel of her hand to her forehead. “I guess I’ve got the clue. Ironic. Can’t even call myself clueless, can I?”
A grin spread across his pretty face. “Would it be too redundant to tell you again how much I like you?”
“I don’t mind. I can’t hear that enough.”
The little sigh that escaped sounded entirely too happy. But was it so wrong to be happy that he felt free to toss around comments that advertised the fact that he was into her? That was awesome. Dangerous. But awesome. Because she wanted to see how much danger she could handle, right? Also she liked him too. More than she was expecting.
“What does the clue say?” he asked as if she still had an interest in the game when the real adventure unfolded in her stomach as she stared at his profile. But she could play along until she could figure out how to seize the day.
The clue proved to be just as cryptic as the first one, but she had a bit more faith in her team by this point. She recited the words on the card for him. “I can be used for food or water. But don’t stand underneath me, unless you’re wearing a hard hat.”
Whatever that meant.
“Obviously the answer is a coconut,” Fitz announced instantly. “But geez, the Bahamas are covered with coconut trees. How are we supposed to narrow that down?”
“What? How is that obvious? You can’t drink coconut flakes.”
He shot her a look that could only be described as I can’t even…
“But you can drink the water inside the coconut shell. Have you never seen a whole coconut? Never mind.” He shook his head before she could tell him that she hadn’t been born on another planet; her brain just hadn’t connected the dots as fast as his because it was occupied with… other things. “Thankfully, you hooked up with me. I’ve got to be the only guy on the planet lucky enough to be able to impress a girl with coconuts.”
“Not impressed yet,” she shot back.
Wow. That had actually been a pretty good comeback that didn’t scream desperation, I’ve got no idea how to talk to a cute guy or hi, it’s my first time in public.
By way of answer, he waggled his brows and started the boat. The engine caught, and he swiped a finger across the tablet thingy mounted to the dash that had all kind of lines and squiggles on it. Maps. GPS coordinates. Obviously a navigation system. She’d been too busy not falling into Fitz’s lap earlier to notice how Jack had maneuvered the boat from island to island.
“Bingo,” he called. “There’s an island near here called Palm Cay. Gotta be our coconut source.”
Since there was little she could find wrong with that logic, she sat back and enjoyed the ride. If her gaze strayed over to the boat driver instead of sticking solely to the scenery, oh well. Of course, the beauty of Fitz put the turquoise water and wheeling clouds to shame. Occasionally they passed a few other boaters, but for the most part, they could have been alone together in another world.
“Thank you,” she said. “For being my team. I’m having fun.”
He shot her a sideways grin. “Me too. Almost there. Should see the land mass up ahead.” Except nothing but more water met them at the horizon. “That’s weird. It should be around here according to the GPS coordinates.”
“Is this the part where I panic?” she joked.
“No, this is the part where you kiss me.” Before she could fully process how the suggestion settled low in her belly with a long liquid pull, he jerked his chin to the left. “It’s behind you. Slippery little sucker. I hate Internet maps. I’m not a fan of being given the wrong intel.”
Oh. The concept of kissing had been a euphemism. He really meant she should thank him for getting them where they needed to be. More disappointed than she had a right to be, she glanced over her shoulder. Her breath caught.